


Dépayser

by lilllac



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Azula-centric, Character Study, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29834847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilllac/pseuds/lilllac
Summary: They say that one person is the average of the other five with whom they live the most.Azula is forced to write about her five closest friends, and ends up discovering some things about herself as well.
Relationships: Aang & Azula (Avatar), Azula & Mai (Avatar), Azula & Toph Beifong, Azula & Ty Lee (Avatar), Azula & Ursa (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee, Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), mentioned - Katara/Aang, mentioned - Suki/Sokka
Kudos: 20





	Dépayser

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Dépayser](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/770346) by Lilllac. 



> Dépayser (v): To annoy someone, to disorient, to change their environment and to put them in a situation that gives them strangeness or discomfort; Break someone's habits.
> 
> English isn't my first language, so I apologize for all mistakes to be found.

Azula stared at the open notebook, with the right blank sheet, and grunted. On the left one, her writing was impeccably structured, based on solid undeniable facts and written with convincing arguments. The **“A +”** stamped at the top completed the picture of perfection. Azula could do that. Essays were easy, especially when they were argumentative. Convincing people of something they didn't really believe in was basically second nature.

Dissertations, particularly personal and (in her opinion) invasive ones like that, not so much.

She reread the sentence again, although, by that point, it was already in her memory. She could almost hear the teacher's voice in her head.

_Analyze the personality of the five people closest to you and explain why yours matches theirs._

What was the point of that stupid essay, after all? How would she improve her writing skills or critical view of the world? _For the love of the spirits_ , Azula was in high school - the teachers should be busy teaching them how to pass the entrance exams, not doing recreational activities that most resembled the elementary games they used to bring children together (games which she hated, it is important to point out) .

Holding the pen in anger, she tried to start.

**Zuko.**

~~_Stupid, nerdy and_ ~~

~~_Coward, crybaby_ ~~

~~_A talentless person who wouldn't survive two minutes without me_ ~~

She sighed, throwing her head back. If she gave that to the teacher, Ursa would certainly be called on the board. She bit the tip of the pen for a moment before starting over, on another page:

_My brother, Zuko. I will start with him because he is the one I have known for the longest time, not exactly because of my degree of affinity. To tell you the truth, we are not that close. We don't even_ like _each other._

_We are very different. He was always jealous of me when we were younger. I think it's because I was always so much more athletic and intelligent than he was. But our mother always adored him for that. For being that clumsy duckling that always needs to be helped. He has no talent, and he is also not very smart. But he is strong. Somehow, he was lucky to be chosen for the international judo championship - a fact that I myself haven't fully understood yet. Now, he spends more time traveling than at home, which makes me miss winning our fights._

_He is older than me, but he is very immature. He's always excited by something silly, like videos of cute animals on the internet. I will never understand._

_But, I have to say, he_ has _become much more responsible lately. Well, he'll be 18 next summer, so it would be really sad if he hadn't. But it's weird. I was used to him being a cowardly crybaby, but now, I have to hitch a ride home with him when he's in town, and listen to him trying to give me advice - as if he's some kind of adult full of experiences and wisdom. That's ridiculous!_

_The other day, Ty Lee and I had a fight for some silly reason (she is always making me lose my temper), and I ended up telling him about in the car on the way home. I thought he was going to be silent as usual, but he told me to talk to her and apologize, as if I was wrong! I said it was a stupid idea._

_It turns out that Ty Lee stopped talking to me for an entire week. So I had to go over there and apologize. And ... well, it worked. I will never tell Zuko that his advice saved my relationship with my best friend, of course._

_So, I think he’s not_ that _bad. He seems to care about me now, and he always sends messages when he's traveling. Aang (who also travels with him, because he is part of the junior volleyball team) says that he talks about me all the time and always buys a souvenir to bring as a gift, which is stupid, but ... somehow, cool. Our relationship improved a little after our parents' divorce, and he has shown himself not to be as bad a brother as I thought he was. We even managed to talk without arguing now._

_Anyway, I only wrote about it because, well, I don't have many people close (my mom and Uncle Iroh_ definitely _don't count!). It's not like Zuko and I really started to put up with one another._

_Zuzu is still a stupid crybaby and coward. And he's only on that list because he's my brother._

Azula put the pen down, feeling satisfied with herself. She was still unsure about the compliments she let slip out (what if it somehow got to Zuko and he thought she _actually_ admired him with an older brother? That would be the death of her). She had managed to insult her brother subtly, and she was sure that she would not lose points for that. Finally, she smiled and prepared to continue.

Her phone vibrated on the table, distracting her. She saw the message icon on the screen and unlocked it. She had put the friend group on silent mode, but Zuko's text still notified:

**Zuzu [17; 42]**

_Aang and Toph invited us to eat pizza at the mall._

_I'm coming ove, and we're picking for Ty Lee and Mai on the way, okay?_

_Your's in on me._

Azula typed and sent a simple "ok", and closed the notebook, putting the pen in its case. She grabbed a jacket from the wardrobe and put on her sneakers, coming down the stairs quickly to wait for him downstairs. She found Ursa reading a magazine on the sofa. Her mom asked with a smile: "What are you getting so pretty for?".

"I'm going out with Zuzu and the others," she replied.

"Excellent. Ask Aang what flavor he wants for his birthday cake".

Azula rolled her eyes. "You spoil my friends too much," she accused.

"And I spoil you too," she countered. Someone rang the bell "it must be your brother, come on".

Azula went to the door, finding Zuko outside. He crossed the room and placed a kiss on his mother's face, and the two siblings went to the car together. Zuko had cut his hair, she realized.

"Your hair is stupid".

"Why, thank you very much," he replied, ironically, as he started the engine. "Why did you take so long to answer? Aang even called you".

"Did he? I didn't see it,” she replied, hiding the fact that the only unmuted contacts on her phone were his, Ty Lee, Mai and Ursa's. "I was doing a school assignment".

Zuko stopped at a red light. "And did you finish?".

She took a long time to answer. Zuko reached into his coat pocket and held out a bag of candy for her. Azula accepted, opening the laminated paper that wrapped the truffle.

"Yeah, more or less".


End file.
